Saturday NCAA: Syracuse Orange at Pittsburgh Panthers
It’s been a very rough week for the Syracuse Orange football program.
First, Mike Williams, the Big East’s leading receiver, quit the team on Monday. He had 49 catches for 746 yards and six touchdowns. That’s as many receptions as the next three receivers, Donte Davis, Antwon Bailey and Marcus Sales, have combined to catch for the Orange. The school record for receptions in a season is 60. Williams was Syracuse’s most talented player but was apparently on the verge of a second suspension in his career when he left the squad.
A day later, coach Doug Marrone announced that he suspended tailback Antwon Bailey, defensive end Torrey Ball and offensive guard Andrew Tiller for violating team rules, reportedly for their role in a traffic accident. Tiller is a starter on the offensive line.
So with all that hanging over a team that is winless in the Big East, the Orange have to travel to Pittsburgh, which is having its best season in more than two decades and is the co-Big East leader. The Panthers, who are 21.5-point betting favorites on WagerWeb.com, are 7-1, their best mark after eight games since the 1982 team that was led by a guy named Dan Marino. They are 13th in this week’s Bowl Championship Series ratings, their highest listing ever.
Pitt has possibly the top freshman in college football this year in Dion Lewis. He has rushed for 1,065 yards and 11 touchdowns this season for the Panthers. He ranks No. 1 in the Big East in rushing and scoring.
But if Syracuse is good at anything, it’s stopping the run. The Orange rank seventh nationally, giving up 88 yards on the ground per game. Lewis presents the same kind of challenge the Orange faced earlier this year when it went up against Noel Devine of West Virginia, holding him to 91 yards on 22 carries.
“Dion Lewis is a heck of a back,” said Syracuse middle linebacker Derrell Smith. “True freshman I believe, too. He’s done a tremendous job coming in for LeSean McCoy. Probably one of the best backs in the country. Most likely, one of the best backs we’ll face this year. He’s quick, fast.”
QB Bill Stull ranks third in the nation in pass efficiency, and Pitt is averaging 34.25 points in its first eight games, or nearly a touchdown per game more than at this point last season. The players almost regretted having last week off after clobbering South Florida in perhaps the team’s most complete effort so far. Stull has 16 touchdown passes and only four interceptions, and eight receivers caught passes against South Florida. WR Jonathan Baldwin has four 100-plus receiving yard games this season and possesses two TD receptions of 70 or more yards.
The Panthers have won six of the past seven meetings in this series.
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